This email was sent September 13th, 2011, two weeks after we had started our Sabbatical.

Hello,

     I (Jeff) am currently sitting at a large dining room table in Breckenridge, CO waiting for Jen's family to arrive from all over the country for her step-sister's wedding (which I have the honor of officiating). We have had peace and quiet for the last couple days, and I know it's soon coming to an end....to be replaced by a ridiculous amount of fun. I intended for this email to go out a week ago but it is hard to find time when your main job is to relax :)
 
     For those of you who are thoroughly confused by this email, let me rewind and bring you up to speed. Jen and I decided, after much prayer and counsel, to leave the church we were serving and take a couple months to rest and regroup. We are calling this a sabbatical, though I have been joking that this is a nice word for unemployment. We were incredibly saddened to leave our church family at Daybreak but really felt God was calling us away from there and into a new adventure. I had just finished 8 years of Seminary and my 10th year in youth ministry and we were ready for a break.
   
    So we put our stuff in storage in San Diego, loaded up our 94 Nissan Truck, put the dog in the extended cab, and headed out for an unknown amount of time. We spent the first 4 days dog/house sitting for Jen's cousin at their beautiful house outside of Murrieta. When I say dog sitting, I mean lounging by the pool reading for 4 straight days. The most activity we had was putting on bee suits and harvesting fresh honey from their property. Cornbread never tasted good! It was the perfect start to our Sabbatical; we were able to just rest and relax for those days while surrounded by nothing but beautiful scenery all around us. It felt like a real vacation! Thank you Kim and Peter.
   
    We then loaded up the car and took two days to get to our favorite Colorado mountain town: Breckenridge (which is about an hour and a half west of Denver). Jen's parents graciously agreed to let us stay at their home in "Breck" for the next month, and we are so looking forward to hiking, biking, fishing, reading, watching movies and anything else we can think of. We feel so blessed to be able to stay up here. Tucker (dog) loves it as well as he gets to explore all sorts of mountain trails. Fall is in full force in the mountains and even though our thin blood is a little shocked, we're lovin' the fresh, crisp mountain air and watching the leaves turn.

     We are not writing this email just to make you jealous about our relaxing days here in Colorado. We want to invite you to be a part of this journey. We have hope that this will be a pivotal time in our marriage and careers. We value each one of you and would cherish your prayers and support as we learn what it means to slow down, be still, and then really start to understand who we are and where God is calling us next. We definitely do not want to do this alone. Thank you for allowing us to share in this unique opportunity we have been given.

     Here are a couple prayer requests
• That we would seek the Lord each and every day and be still before Him,
• That our marriage would be strengthened and taken to new levels through this season of rest, and
• That we would fight the desire right now to figure everything out and plan for the future. I (Jeff) have     a hard time letting go of the future and being fully present.

     Our goal is to send out little update emails every few weeks or so, with a few pictures here and there. If you don't want to be a part of these emails, just let me know and I will take you off the list (we won't be offended!).

     I'll leave you with a little benediction from the book of Hebrews that encouraged me this morning: 

"Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." -Hebrews 13:20-21

Thanks for your love and support. We can't wait to see how this little adventure plays out.

~Jeff and Jen